Sliding jaw wrench with step-by-step actuation by claw lever means



Nov. 8, 1966 T. NEFF 3,283,624

SLIDING JAW WRENCH WITH STEP-BY-STEP ACTUATION BY CLAW LEVER MEANS' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 22, 1965 TED NE FF INVENTOR. mm

llll lllllllllI SLIDING JAW WRENCH WITH STEP-BY-STEP ACTUATION BY CLAW LEVER MEANS Filed Jan. 22, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i TED NEFF V INVENTOR BY M United States Patent 3,283,624 SLIDING JAW WRENCH WITH STEP-BY-STEP ACTUATION BY CLAW LEVER MEANS Ted Nelr, 20975 Shamrock Ave., San Bernardino, Calif. Filed Jan. 22, 1965, Sex. No. 427,414 6 Claims. (Cl. 81360) This invention relates to hand tools in general and more particularly to an adjustable tool such as adjustable wrenches and/or pliers.

A primary object of my invention is to provide an adjustable tool that will fit variously shaped work pieces such as nuts, bolts, pipes, tubing studs, and similar objects, said tool having a novel mechanical method of adjusting the jaws quickly and easily to various gapsnot presently found in conventional tools, wrenches or pliers.

Another object is to accomplish the above without the use of knurled adjusting nuts or screws, slip-joints, ribs, or channels as now employed in such tools.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tool that can be used in the manner of a wrench for nuts and the like, and which can be adjusted to a workpiece without the necessity of reaching into restricted places to try and adjust the tool by means of a turning screw which is usually located near the jaws and therefore very difficult to reach and adjust properly if at all.

Another object of the invention is to provide a jacking tool having a compound gripping leverage on a workpiece that'provides the tool with a firm and powerful gripping force not presently found or available in conventional wrenches, and having more gripping force than any simple or other plier presently available. For example: the tool shown in its preferred form in the drawings, if considered as drawn to scale, has a compound leverage of 12 /2 to 1 to the end of the handles, and approximately 8 to 1 to the center of an operators hand position on the handles. Thus, a squeezing grip of 100 inch pounds applied to the handles would transfer to the jaws a gripping force of 800 inch pounds on the workpiece before the added force of turning torque is even applied.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a tool that can be used in the manner of a plier or the like, depending on the configuration of the gripping jaws and the use for which intended as the only determining feature as to whether it would be designated a wrench or a plier, but which can be adjusted to different jaw gaps to fit different sized workpieces without the necessity for spreading the handles and slipping into another position or channel to change the jaw gap, such as is the case with conventional pliers on the market today.

A further object is to incorporate a novel mechanical means in a hand tool that permits a movable jaw to be jacked toward a fixed jaw by merely opening and closing a pair of handles to accomplish the jacking operation, and also a means for quickly disengaging a jack rack to open or close the jaw gap so that the jacking operation may be repeated as necessary during the course of usage on variously sized objects.

Another object of this invention is to provide a secondary means of adjusting the tool quickly and easily to the desired jaw gap that supplements the jacking operation and permits the tool to be adjusted in one operation when the jaw gap is very narrow or very wide.

Still other objects reside in the combination of elements, arrangement of the various parts, and features of construction such as will be pointed out more fully hereinafter and disclosed in the accompanying drawings wherein there is shown a preferred and also some alternate embodiments of this invention, and wherein like reference characters designate like parts.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the tool in its preferred form as a pipe wrench for use on pipes, tubing, and the like;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, showing the internal construction of the tool;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the tool as viewed from the back side opposite the jaw side;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 44 of FIG. 2 as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2 as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the wrench at the top portion thereof; but slightly enlarged.

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 are side elevations, part of the tool broken away, showing examples of three of the many possible configurations of the jaws to fit different types of workpieces.

Referring now particularly to the drawings, the device of the instant invention is comprised of a body section 10 having a handle 11 integral therewith. Body section 10 has a rail 12 substantially of rectangular cross-section, in its preferred form, running partially down the front side of said body section. Rail 12 terminates at its top end into a projecting portion 13 which extends outwardly from body section 10 substantially at right angles to rail 12. Projecting portion 13 also has a rail 14 which is substantially shorter than rail 12 on which is mounted a fixed jaw 15. Jaw 15 is held in place on the tool by means of two rivets or pins 16 and 17 respectively, said jaw 15 being replaceable when it becomes damaged or worn in usage by removal of said rivets or pins. By matter of choice, said jaw 15 may also be formed integral with projecting portion 13, not shown in drawings, it being an obvious form of construction and not a matter pertaining to the invention concept described and claimed herein. Rail 12, being substantially larger in thickness than body section 10, retains a movable jaw 18 slidably mounted thereon by means of an open-sided channel 19 running the entire length of an extended portion 20 which projects downwardly from said jaw portion 18.

The open side of such channel is somewhat narrower than the main portion of the channel and forms two internal shoulders which encompass rear surfaces of rail 12 and slide thereon to retain jaw 18 on said rail. Channel 19 is somewhat larger in two of its four dimensions than rail 12 as shown in FIG. 5, and attached to the inner forward wall of said channel is a spring means 21. Spring 21 is attached to said inner wall by means of a rivet or screw 22 substantially at the position shown in FIG. 2. Said spring projects upwardly inside open channel 19 to a point located just barely inside work surface 23 of jaw 18 where it bears against the front surface of rail 12 and cams jaw 18 away from rail 12 to where fulcrum point 24 rests against the rear inner wall of channel 19. Because spring 21 contacts rail 12 at a point above fulcrum point 24, the upper end of jaw 18 is held in a forward position away from the front surface of rail 12, while the lower portion 20 is held inward against the front surface of rail 12. Thus, jaw 18 is held in a tilted position on rail 19 by the tension or force of spring 21. If fulcrum point 24 were not substantially below the top end of spring 21 where it bears against rail 12, the tilted angle of jaw 18 on rail 12 would not result. For example, were the fulcrum point 24 as high as and in parallel alignment with the top end of spring 21, a surface 25 of jaw 18 would rest in contact with the rear surface of rail 12 for its entire length, and jaw 18 would not be tilted. To achieve the desired tilt, the importance of which will be brought forth hereinafter, an angle drawn between the lower forward edge of open channel 19, fulcrum point 24, and upper end of spring 21 where it bears against rail 12, must be more than 90 degrees.

Continuing now with the description: the two rearwardly facing vertical surfaces of the flange portions of jaw 18 are located on both sides of body section and each have a toothed rack 27 formed thereon. The teeth of rack 27 are formed with two sides of unequal length, the longer side 28 being the upper one and slanted at a relatively flatter angle than the lower, shorter side 29 when taken in relation to the vertical axis of the tool. Attached to the lower portion of body section 10 by means of a pivot pin 30 there is a pivotable second handle 31. Handle 31 has an enlarged portion 32 at its upper end, and which is bifurcated to straddle body section 10. Said enlarged portion has a multiple of gear teeth 33 on both sides facing their respective toothed rack 27. The teeth 33 are of corresponding shape to teeth on rack 27 and engaged therewith on both sides of body section 10. At the top end of rack 27 is a projecting portion 34. Said projectiing portion acts as a stop for jaw 18, when said jaw is slid to its lowest position on rail 12, and which butts up against enlarged portion 32, thereby preventing said jaw from sliding off of rail 12 and becoming completely disengaged from the tool.

In operating the tool, the jacking of movable jaw 18 toward fixed jaw is accomplished by merely pivoting handle 31 away from and toward handle 11 with alternate opening and closing motions of the two handles. As handle 31 is swung away from handle 11, gear teeth 33 will bear against the longer and fiat surfaces of the teeth on racks 27 and jaw 18 is forced to pivot on fulcrum point 24 away from gear teeth 33, and against the tension of spring 21 until rack 27 and said teeth disen gage from mesh with each other. Teeth 33 then slip into mesh with toothed racks 27 at a point lower down the rack, the action of spring 21 causing the reengagement of rack and gear teeth automatically as jaw 18 swings back to its starting tilted position on rail 12. Then, as handle 31 is alternately swung toward handle 11, the mesh of racks 27 with gear teeth 33 is not disturbed due to the fact that the bearing surfaces between the teeth of rack 27 and gear teeth 33 have been transferred from the long fiat sides to the short acute-angled sides and thereby exert to camming action to jaw 18. Rather, jaw 18 is lifted along rail 12 to a higher position and closer to jaw 15 as the action progresses. The tension exerted by spring 21 then holds jaw 18 in this raised position where a new camming action, disengagement of gear teeth and rack, and re-engagement at a lower position can be accomplished and the jacking operation then repeated.

The tension exerted by spring 21 is sufficient to overcome the downward force applied by teeth 33 to teeth of racks 27 due to the flat angle of the longer side of said teeth; therefore, instead of forcing jaw. 18 downwardly on rail 12 during the outward swingof handle 31, teeth 33 slide down the flat surface of the teeth on racks 27, while jaw 18 remains stationary, and cams the rack and jaw away from teeth 33 until the teeth re-engage the rack at a lower position.

In using this jacking method of adjustment, jaw 18 may be jacked one, two, or three rack teeth at a time by the operator merely controlling the distance handle 31 is swung away from handle 11. A shorter swing jacks jaw 18 one tooth notch at a time, a medium swing two teeth notches at a time, and a wide swing three teeth notches, all with just one outward and inward swing of handle 31.

Due to the novel construction of the tool, a secondary adjusting means is provided that permits the tool to be adjusted anywhere within its jaw capacity in a single operation, exclusive of, and separate from, the jacking oper ation hereinbefore described. This secondary adjustment is accomplished by gripping the bottom extended portion 20 of jaw 18 with one hand while holding the tool handles with the other hand and pulling outwardly against the tension of spring 21 until racks 27 are disengaged from mesh with gear teeth 33. Jaw 18 may then be slid freely to any desired position on rail 12 and then released. The tension of spring 21 automatically causes the bottom of extended portion 20 to swing inwardly against rail 12, at which position racks 27 and gear teeth 33 are again engaged and in mesh with each other.

Additionally, the jaws of the tool may be closed on the workpiece very quickly by merely pressing upward on the sliding jaw, and thus causing the jaw to ratchet past the gear teeth 33 against the tension of spring 21 until it comes into contact with the workpiece in the proper work-engaging position in the same manner as described for the jacking action, :but in a single shift of operation that closes the jaws much faster than jacking.

When the tool is in operation and force is being applied downwardly against working surface 23 of jaw 18 by the camming action of the object or workpiece being turned in a clockwise direction, this downward camming force causes jaw extended portion 20 to swing forcefully in against rail 12 which in turn locks racks 27 tightly against gear teeth 33 to the maximum depth possible and thereby prevents any possibility of the gear teeth from becoming disengaged and slipping out of the set position with racks 27 during usage on a workpiece. When the hand grip on the two handles is relaxed, the tool may be slid counter-clockwise around the workpiece to obtain a new turning grip without removing the tool from the workpiece. This is accomplished by the carnming action of the workpiece, with the hand grip relaxed, causing jaw 18 to move downwardly on rail 12 and Widen the jaw gap sufficiently to release the grip and permit the tool to be slid around the workpiece. In this manner, a ratcheting effect is obained and the tool can be used with considerably more speed than is possible with many conventional hand tools designed for the same type of work.

The markings in FIG. 1 indicated at 35 are there to merely show where a setting can be made for certain diameters of a workpiece.

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show other possible forms wherein the invention can .be employed, that is, jaw forms. The numeral 40 shows an upper jaw and the numeral 41 a lower jaw wherein they are both provided with parallel and straight gripping surfaces. In FIG. 8, the jaws 42 and 43 are provided with angled gripping surfaces. And in FIG. 9, the jaw gripping surfaces, both upper jaw 44 and lower jaw 45, are serrated for turning pipe, headless bolts, rods etc.

A tool substantially of the type and construction illustrated and described herein has many advantages over conventional adjustable type tools, pliers and wrenches in that it may be adjusted to a given workpiece very rapidly and easily by merely working the two handles alternately toward and away from each other with just one hand holding the tool. There is no need to use the other hand to make an adjustment, as is necessary with so many adjustable wrenches and pliers on the market today. Also a tool having the novel features disclosed herein, whether it be in the form of a wrench or plier, can be inserted into a restricted space where adjustment of a conventional tool would be difficult if not impossible, to place it over the workpiece and adjust it quickly and accurately to the workpiece, and with the advantages of applicants jacking feature. Thus, the necessity for making repeated adjustments while the tool is oil? the workpiece is avoided and unnecessary in accordance with the teachings of this invention.

It will now be understood and should be obvious that changes may be made in the form, dimensions, construction and arrangement of the various parts, as shown, within the scope of the appended claims, without departg from t e spirit of the invention, and therefore the in vention is not necessarily limited to the exact construction illustrated and described herein, nor is the invention necessarily limited to the uses disclosed.

I claim the following:

1. A hand tool comprising a first jaw with a handle extending below it but having an intermediate space with a rail means integral therewith, a second jaw configurated to ride along the rail means, the second jaw having a rack along an edge thereof, a handle-like lever having a head pivoted to the said intermediate space and provided with a plurality of teeth for engaging the rack, when the handle-like lever is spread away from the said handle a material distance, the teeth on the head are disengaged with the rack so that the rack is free to be shifted along the rail means to any desired position, stop means on the tool to prevent the second jaw leaving said rail means, spring means provided between the second jaw and the rail means which constantly urges a top portion of the second jaw away from the rail means and at the same time constantly urges the bottom portion toward the rail means and the gear racks into engagement with each other, the teeth on the rack having unequal sides, each tooth thereof having its upper side slanted at a relatively flatter angle than its bottom side so that the teeth on the head can slip downwardly along the rack so as to provide a jacking action, the rail means having a substantially T-shaped cross section and the second jaw having a channel configuration to envelope the rail means.

2. The hand tool recited in claim 1 wherein the spring means consists of a fiat ribbon-like strip of spring steel which is angled at its top end portion.

3. The hand tool recited in claim 1 wherein the head of the handle-like lever has a disc-like shape and wherein the plurality of teeth thereon project from a relatively small are along the circumference of the said disc-like shape.

4. The hand tool recited in claim 1 wherein the jaws have substantially parallel faces and wherein the stop means is an extension from the second jaw at the top end of the rack.

5. The hand tool recited in claim 1 wherein the jaws have opposed angled faces and wherein the stop means is a rounded projection at the top end of the rack.

6. The hand tool recited in claim 1 wherein the jaws have opposed concaved faces and the stop means is a projection integral with the second jaw and which projection extends in the direction of the head of the handlelike lever.

. References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 699,234 5/1902 Quinn 81127 1,085,198 1/1914 Finney 8l360 X 1,781,940 11/1930 Anderson 81-359 FOREIGN PATENTS Ad. 66,444 10/ 1956 France. 1,338,905 8/1963 France.

21,576 1897 Great Britain.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

MILTON S. MEHR, Examiner. 

1. A HAND TOOL COMPRISING A FIRST JAW WITH A HANDLE EXTENDING BELOW IT BUT HAVING AN INTERMEDIATE SPACE WITH A RAIL MEANS INTEGRAL THEREWITH, A SECOND JAW CONFIGURATED TO RIDE ALONG THE RAIL MEANS, THE SECOND JAW HAVING A RACK ALONG AN EDGE THEREOF, A HANDLE-LIKE LEVER HAVING A HEAD PIVOTED TO THE SAID INTERMEDIATE SPACE AND PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF TEETH FOR ENGAGING THE RACK, WHEN THE HANDLE-LIKE LEVER IS SPREAD AWAY FROM THE SAID HANDLE A MATERIAL DISTANCE, THE TEETH ON THE HEAD ARE DISENGAGED WITH THE RACK SO THAT THE RACK IS FREE TO BE SHIFTED ALONG THE RAIL MEANS TO ANY DESIRED POSITION, STOP MEANS ON THE TOOL TO PREVENT THE SECOND JAW LEAVING SAID RAIL MEANS, SPRING MEANS PROVIDED BETWEEN THE SECOND JAW AND THE RAIL MEANS WHICH CONSTANTILY URGES A TOP PORTION OF THE SECOND JAW AWAY FROM THE RAIL MEANS AND AT THE SAME TIME CONSTANTILY URGES THE BOTTOM PORTION TOWARD THE RAIL MEANS AND THE GEAR RACKS INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH EACH OTHER, THE TEETH ON THE RACK HAVING UNEQUAL SIDES, EACH TOOTHER THEREOF HAVING ITS UPPER SIDE SLANTED AT A RELATIVELY FLATTER ANGLE THAN ITS BOTTOM SIDE SO THAT THE TEETH ON THE HEAD CAN SLIP DOWNWARDLY ALONG THE RACK SO AS TO PROVIDE A JACKING ACTION, THE RAIL MEANS HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY T-SHAPED CROSS SECTION AND THE SECOND JAW HAVING A CHANNEL CONFIGURATION TO ENVELOPE THE RAIL MEANS. 